Rasl-joint



(No Model.)

L. R. SHOOKLEY.

RAIL JOINT.

No. 569,066. Patented Oct. 6, 1896.

UNiTEn STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LEMUEL R. SHOCKLEY, OF MILFORD, DELAIVARE.

RAIL-JOINT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 569,066, dated October 6, 1896.

Application filed June 8, 1895.

To to whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEMUEL R. SHOCKLEY, of Milford, in the county of Sussex and State of Delaware, have invented anew and useful Improvement in Railroad Rails; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

My present invention has for its object to so construct the abutting ends of railwayrails that not only will the ends of the rails be securely locked together, but the ends will also be firmly supported by the cross-ties or chairs whereon they rest.

It has been heretofore proposed to construct the ends of railway-rails in such manner that a tenon upon the end of one rail should enter a mortise upon the end of the opposite rail, but this construction is objectionable,because inasmuch as the tenon projecting from one rail is unsupported within the mortise of the abutting rail any excess strain upon the mortised rail must be sustained by the tenon, thereby causing great danger of bending or breaking the same. IVith my improved construction of rail-joint the tenon of one rail that carries the mortise of the abutting rail is for a portion of its length extended upon the plane of the bottom of the rails, so that this tenon is itself directly sustained by the cross-ties or chairs whereon the rails are placed.

My invention consists in the novel construction hereinafter described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the claim at the end of this specification.

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the end of the rail-section having the mortise therein. Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation showing the two rails separately, but in readiness to be brought together. Fig. 3 is a view in central vertical section through the abutting ends of the rails when in position for use.

A and B denote, respectively, the rails that are to be joined together. The rail A is provided at its end with a tenon a, the upper edge of which terminates about the head of the rail. The lower edge of the tenon a for a considerable distance extends upon the plane of the base of the rail, and from such point outward the tenon is reduced in order to en'- Serial No. 651,584. (No model.)

ter the closed part of the mortise of the opposite rail; that is to say, from the point 2 to thepoint 3 the tenon a extends upon a line of the bottom edge of the rail A, and from the point 4: outward the tenon is reduced. The rail B is formed with a mortise 1), corresponding substantially in outline or shape to the tenon a of the rail A, being slightly larger of course than the tenon, in order to permit the tenon to be readily inserted therein. It will be observed that throughout a portion of its length the mortise-b is closed to receive the reduced portion of the tenon a, but that part of the mortise 1) adjacent its outer end is open at the bottom to receive the corresponding part of the tenon a. \Vhen the rails are set together, as seen in Fig. 4; of the drawings, it will be observed that the part a of the tenon a nearest the end of the rail will extend through the mortise b and rest directly upon the cross-tie or chair beneath it. This extension of the tenon through the bottom of the rail B is an important feature, because it causes the lower edge of the tenon to be firmly supported by the cross-tie or chair, and c011- seqnently any strain thrown upon the end of the rail B will be sustained directly by the tenon a and will by it be transmitted to the chair or cross-tie. In this way all danger of breakage of the tenon is avoided.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

A joint for railroad-rails consisting of abutting rail-sections, one of said sections being provided with a mortise or socket closed at its top and having its bottom closed through a portion of its length and open through the outer portion of its length and the other of said rail-sections being provided with a tenon or arm, the top of which extends in a plane below the top of the rail and the bottom of 9 which extends for a part of its length in the plane of the bottom of the rail and throughout the remainder of its length in a plane above the bottom of the rail, whereby said tenon or arm is adapted to fit within said mortise, substantially as described.

LEMUEL R. SHOOKLEY.

Witnesses:

CHARLES G. FISHER, PHILIP S. GRAHAM. 

